The Doctor's Ganger
by Pandorica1912
Summary: The Doctor was dying. 'They can't cry. They don't deserve another dead Doctor.' To keep the Ponds from crying, the Doctor goes to get his duplicate to take his place. Only to be thrown in the crossfires of Rowatoo in the middle of a war with the Silence.
1. Chapter 1

The Doctor stood facing himself, a frown on his face. 'I can't have them upset over me.' He mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He glanced over to the blue box, sitting a far distance away. 'Amy and Rory I mean… They can't cry. They don't deserve another dead Doctor.'

The other man nodded, 'So you went back in time, or rather farther in time, to get me, so Amy wouldn't cry?' The real Doctor nodded to his duplicate. 'I understand. We are the same person, you know, but going back and making me give the other ganger the sonic to kill that thing by herself… it didn't feel too right.'

'Never does.' The real Doctor sighed, then winced and looked down at his side. He pulled his hands from his pockets and pressed them against the bullet hole. 'Mega-Plex Radiation bullet, it stops my regeneration cycle from going further than a few of my cells realigning.' He shifted uneasily before dropping to his knees.

'No!' The duplicate yelled, then knelt beside the Doctor. 'I will not take your place.'

'We're the same person… Whatever I am, you are. Love them both.' He said with a cringe, then doubled over. 'Oh, kidney just failed,'

'Doctor, stay with me, keep your eyes open!'

The real Doctor shook his head, 'One of my hearts just stopped.' He whispered, then pulled up his sleeve to expose a Time Vortex Manipulator. He glanced up and grinned, trying to throw in some of his normal enthusiasm. 'Live well, Doctor.' He said and pressed down a button.

'Doctor!' The ganger yelled, stretching out a hand to thin air. The real Doctor was gone with just a key and his screwdriver in his place. The ganger picked them up and slipped them into his pockets. 'Goodbye.' He whispered and turned to walk into the waiting TARDIS. He slipped the key into the lock and pushed the door open.

Amy was leaning against the console, her arms crossed. 'Who were you talking to?'

He closed the door and took two giant hops to stand directly in front of her. 'No one, nobody… no one. Where to?'

'Don't change the subject,' she said with an eye-roll. 'I know you were talking to someone.'

'Go find Rory since you're being no help with a destination. Oh, how about the cliffs of Rowatoo? Mountains made of sapphire,' he said, ignoring Amy's earlier question.

She frowned and pushed off the console, 'Is something the matter? I mean, after you showed up at our doorstep saying a friend made you realise something… who was she?'

He froze, not having the slightest clue of what to say. His memories, lifespan, stopped at the time when he was created. Everything else that happened to the Doctor after that wasn't in his head. 'Just a friend,' he said.

'Doctor, I know… I know at first you never tell me, but you always end up saying. It's been a while, tell me.'

'Actually, it's never been "a while", Amy. That moment in time is happening now and it will always be happening now.' He flicked up a lever and grinned. 'You need to understand those little snips of time travel, Amy.' The Doctor stopped and smiled at her, 'Get Rory!'

She nodded, but didn't move, 'Doctor?' Amy asked as he poked her arm, then her forehead thoughtfully. He didn't respond as he took out his sonic and scanned her. 'Doctor, what are you doing?'

He tapped the air with the sonic, then set it back into his pocket. 'Sorry, what?'

'What did you just do with the sonic?' She snapped.

He looked over her and then shook his head. 'Don't know, I think a lot. It's hard to keep track,' He murmured, then rubbed his forehead. 'Why?' He whispered barely above his breath.

'What?'

The Doctor raised his head, 'Why? Why! What did we ever do?' He fell back against the console and moaned slightly, 'Sorry, my head… blimey,' he rubbed his temples and tried a smile, 'Rowatoo?'

Amy glared at him, 'Something's wrong, tell me.'

'Can't,'

'Why not?'

He shut his eyes, then opened them and flipped another lever down. 'Because if I tell you, the universe could implode. _Because _if I tell you, someone will cry. I can't have someone crying because of the news you made me tell you. It's better off a secret,'

'So no one will get hurt? Or cry?' Amy asked with a confused look. She side-stepped to stand directly in front of the Doctor. 'Who will cry?'

'Oh, Pond, what don't you understand about calling a secret?'

Her eyebrows rose, 'The secret bit.' She said, then laughed as the Doctor pointed at her.

He clapped, then spun around to the other side of the console. One hand was gripping a large lever, while the other rested calmly on the console. His mouth was turned in a mischievous grin, but Amy saw a silent tear trickle down his face. 'Rowatoo then?' He asked as he pushed the lever down and Amy was thrown off her feet.

As she was about to hit the ground, hands grasped her elbows and she turned to smile at Rory. 'Is the Doctor crying?' He asked.

Amy looked over to the Doctor, who was staring at the Time Rotor with such intensity that she thought lasers would shoot from his eyes. She looked back at her husband, her eyes wide. 'I don't know.'

'I thought he was a Time Lord… you know, doesn't get affected easily by the emotions and stuff.'

'That's just what he says, it doesn't make it true.' Amy said and pushed away from Rory. She threw her weight across the shaking floor to fall against the console. 'Doctor, why Rowa-something?'

The Doctor looked at her with disbelief, 'Rowa-something? Amy Pond, your memory is literally quite awful. Rowatoo.' He said with a smile, not even realising he was being rude. The TARDIS stopped moving and he ran towards the door. 'So, who wants to see cliffs of sapphires?' He said with an obnoxious smile spreading on his face.

Amy stepped forward, blindly finding Rory's hand behind her. The Doctor swung the doors open as he stepped out and laughed warm-heartedly. 'Doctor, why did you take us here?'

'Oh, so now you're dodging the word, Pond? Since when did you ask "why", anyway?' He asked, his forehead wrinkling up as he eyebrows pushed together. Not waiting for an answer, he rambled on, 'Well, I brought us "here" because it's beautiful! It glows power, energy that forces you to stay awake. It forces you to be happy, and who wants to be sad?'

'Sad people?' Rory interjected.

The Doctor shook his head as he looked out over the shiny, blue mountains. 'No, Rory, no one wants to be sad… or mad, or wants to hate their very own existence. It just happens.' He called over his shoulder as he motioned for Amy to step out.

'The air is… silver?' Amy said with a confused look to the Doctor.

'Of course its silver! What other colour would it be?' He looked at her with a child-like gleam in his eyes.

Amy rolled her eyes at him, 'You could start with the colour clear?'

'Clear isn't a colour, Amy!' He cried out as he skipped over to a railing stretching out over the edge of the mountain. He rested his hands on the railing, his forehead crinkling in thought. 'Mountains made of sapphire; it's been around before the Earth was even a planet. That long ago, Earth was just rocks floating in the Solar System, but Rowatoo is so much different and so much the same! The air is breathable, there's water in the ground, and the people are generally friendly.'

'Generally friendly? Are they or are they not?' Rory asked.

'In between,' The Doctor responded, his gaze distant. He jogged down the pathway to a set of stairs leading away from the mountains into a slightly civilised town. He paused as he saw a man doubled over next a bench directly across from him. 'Not good,' He whispered to himself quizzically. The man looked up, a smile spreading on his lips. His bow tie was askew, so was every other thing about him, but there was no mistaking him. The man lowered his head again, letting a mop of brown hair drop over his forest green eyes. 'All right then... Amy!'

He felt a gentle tap on his shoulder as Amy approached him, 'Doctor? What's the matter?' She asked, a frown going across her face. The Doctor didn't move, couldn't move, his eyes away from the man falling over in pain. He couldn't bring himself to rip his eyes away.

'Amy, Rory, I'm about to tell you something very important. You have to listen and keep an open mind, all right?'

'Yeah, okay.' Amy said as she lifted her hand behind her, searching for Rory's hand. Once she locked hands with him, an overwhelming calmness sailed through her. It still bothered her to look at the Doctor in such a sad state, but Rory had made it slightly better just by being there.

The Doctor shifted his head slightly, but didn't take his eyes off of the man on the ground. 'I'm not the Doctor.'


	2. Chapter 2

_'Yeah, okay.' Amy said as she lifted her hand behind her, searching for Rory's hand. Once she locked hands with him, an overwhelming calmness sailed through her. It still bothered her to look at the Doctor in such a sad state, but Rory had made it slightly better just by being there._

_The Doctor shifted his head slightly, but didn't take his eyes off of the man on the ground. 'I'm not the Doctor.'_

'What, of course you're the Doctor!' Rory said with his eyebrows crushed together. He didn't understand what the Doctor meant or if he was even serious in the matter.

'I'm not.' He said back as calm as ever, which gave his companions chills. 'And to answer Amy's earlier question, I don't know why we're here. The TARDIS did this, not me. I just tried to make it seem as if I was taking you here on purpose. Then… then I saw him.' He pointed to the crouched over man across the street.

'Who's he?' Amy asked, squinting against the moon light. It shined just as bright as any sun would, but the light was blue. She pushed her hair back and angled her hands in front of her eyes to block out the sun. It was hard to see anything besides the brown hair and the tweed-looking jacket. Amy shook her head to try and rearrange her thoughts as she took a step forward. No, it wasn't a "tweed-looking jacket", it was tweed. She glanced up to the Doctor, or the impostor, and sighed.

She felt eyes on her, but she didn't see anyone looking at her. Amy looked over to Rory, then to whoever he was beside her. Both were staring at the man across the road, not at her. She took a step onto the cement and looked both ways. 'What's that?' She asked no one in particular as she saw something turn a corner a few blocks away.

'What's what?' Rory asked as he set a hand on her arm.

Amy's head whipped back to look at her husband, 'What?'

'You asked something… before.'

'No, I didn't,' She said and poked Rory in the stomach playfully. She shifted to look back at the mysterious man, only this time his head was raised. 'Doctor?' She squinted again and allowed her feet to bring her towards the man. 'Doctor!' Her voice escalated in volume as her speed picked up. She knelt beside him and searched rapidly for his hand.

A small laugh caught her attention as she gripped his bloody hand. 'Amelia Pond,' he was having trouble forcing the words out as he winced from an injury Amy couldn't see. 'I really couldn't keep this a secret for too long, eh? You weren't supposed to be here, though.'

Amy shook her head and smiled softly at him, 'You're a goof, Doctor. Why did you get him?' She asked with a nod to the duplicate standing uneasily beside Rory a short distance away. '

'Amy, do you remember meeting Captain Jack?' When she shook her head, the Doctor motioned for her to come closer. He placed his forehead on hers and laughed again, 'I'm giving you the memory I wasn't supposed to remember.'

"_You can't just… run forever," Rory Williams said as he shot his friend a confused look. He pushed himself away from the nicely decorated table and grabbed his plate with his left hand while his right held a cup. "I mean, it will catch up with you, won't it?" He called over his shoulder as he entered the kitchen. _

_He heard a laugh behind him as he dropped the plate with a clank into the sink. "No, Rory, running away is always the best. It gives you time to make up a plan," _

"_Please, Doctor, you never use plans!" Rory heard his wife say as he re-entered the room. Amy was leaning against a door post with her arms crossed over her chest. She had a frown on her face, but her eyes glowed with warmth for her very alive Doctor. _

_The Doctor shot Amy a hurt look, "I always have a plan." _

"_Your plans consist of-" _

"_Fine! I don't use plans, but that's not because I think poorly of them… it's the idea of having to…" He trailed off as he tapped his fork's end, pushing it off the table, then settling it back down. _

_Amy bent down in frustration and snatched up the fork, "You're a big baby," _

"_Is this because I didn't let you down the green swirly slide?" The Doctor asked as he stretched passed Rory to grab another fork. "Because if that's it, it isn't my fault, Petunia strictly said 'no Amy'." _

"_The slide talks?" Rory interjected. _

"_No, don't be ridiculous! Petunia is just connected to the speaker on the side of the slide. Her voice is sent through in psychic waves, and it's a computer!" _

_Amy arched an eyebrow, "So your slide talks and has a name," She said quizzically, "And won't let me on the slide?" _

"_No, that's not what I meant at all. My slide," The Doctor said and smirked, "My slide." Strands of hair fell in his eyes as he wrung his wrists around themselves. "I should get going," _

_The room grew silent as Amy and Rory glanced up at the weird man in the bow tie. "No," Amy said calmly and took her place in front of him. "No." She repeated in the same tone, but this time lifting her pointer finger to the Doctor's chest. "You can't just come sauntering in here and have Rory's dinner, then just leave!" _

_The Doctor scrunched up his forehead as his eyes moved across her face. "Isn't that what guests generally do?" _

_Amy shook her head furiously, "You are not a typical guest, Doctor. And… and I'm going with you." _

"_Amy-" Rory said, moving his eyes from the Doctor to Amy. _

_She turned her head, her red hair flipping behind her. "No, Rory, no," She snapped, and then moved her glare to the Doctor. "So?" _

_The Doctor clapped his hands together, then looked down at them. Two black lines slid across his left hand, he lifted his head to frown at his friends. "This isn't good, we have some rouge Silence." Amy grabbed onto the Doctor's hand and wiggled her fingers for Rory to grab onto her other hand. "Now, there's only two, but I don't like weapons… So, this will be tricky." He spun on his heels as the hairs on the back of Amy's neck stood. It took her longer than expected to raise her head and take a look at the alien._

"_We are the Silence," The words slithered off its tongue in a skin crawling manner. "We are the Silence." It repeated, and then both raised their large, ancient looking hands. _

"_And what? Or was that it? I suppose it does add onto the mystery, if there still was a mystery to add onto. But, there isn't, not anymore. So, tell me, who sent you?" _

"_We are the Silence, we do not take orders." The second one said in the same gut wrenching tone. _

"_Oh, that line usually works in the movies," The Doctor mumbled to himself, "Although it never worked in that American film Transformers. I told Steven it wouldn't ever work," He paused and laughed to himself, "He never believed me. I remember the other movie I snuck onto; trying to get Rory here's attention. Never did I see someone so-"_

"_Doctor!" Amy yelled, forcing him out of his rant. _

"_What?" He said, a simple, confused look passing over his face. He frowned at Amy, and then turned back to the Silence, the memories from before coming back to him. "Question, if there's only one of you; metaphorically, do we call you a 'Silent' or still say Silence? The more I say the word, the more it feels foreign on my tongue. Which reminds me, Rory don't eat the pop-tarts in the kitchen. Amy here hasn't bought new ones in a year or so-" _

"_Hey!" _

"_-and I can't promise you they aren't poisoned." The Doctor smiled and he wrung his wrists again. "Now, nobody move, or we all go up in flames." _

_The Silence didn't move, and finally lowered their hands. The second one took a small step forward, its suit crinkling from the move. "Why not?" It asked with its mouth hardly moving, if it had a mouth at all. _

"_Because the whole time I've been talking to you, someone else has been working behind you. Amy and Rory haven't really… checked the locks on their house lately and someone just so happened to-" _

"_I kicked the door in, Doc," Captain Jack Harkness said as he came out from behind the Silence, a gun in one hand and a lighter in the other. _

"_My way would have been cooler," The Doctor said, partly to himself. _

_Jack rolled his eyes, but didn't move them away from the Silence. Amy watched Jack from the corner of her eye, keeping the Silence in full view. "Who's he?" _

"_Captain Jack Harkness, we'll do-" _

"_Don't Jack," The Doctor snapped and glared at him, looking away from the Silence. "Jack? Why do you have a gun?" _

"_Gah, Doctor, there's a, I think you called it, a Silence." Jack nodded towards the Silence, but never looked at the Doctor. "Look at it and you'll remember." _

_The Doctor slowly moved to look at it, his eyes shifting back and forth. He knew he had to see it, to remember exactly why Amy was huddled against him and Rory. To remember why Jack had a gun and to remember why there were two black lines going across his hand. But looking at it meant the solid fact that his fake death wasn't real enough, that meant they found him. _

_His eyes met the hard, black rocks scrunched up in the Silence's face. If the eyes were staring at him, he wouldn't even know. __Realisation hit him and he smiled, "Ah, Jack! I said no guns," The Doctor snapped, but still held his smile. _

The memory was cut short when the Doctor wheezed out in pain and collapsed with his eyes shut.


End file.
